At the start of 2016, inspired by a friend, I started a daily gratitude challenge – posting one thing that I was thankful for each day on Instagram. I enjoyed it so much that when I reached the end of that year, I carried on and have kept going ever since. Finding one little thing to be thankful for each day has now become part of my daily routine and I’ve loved seeing friends joining in along the way too.
Finding something to be grateful for each day isn’t about trying to give the impression that life is perfect and wonderful. It isn’t. Those little moments of gratitude can be hard to find at times; particularly after my eldest daughter Jessica died in April 2018. Some days, I struggle to find my grateful moment; some days I just feel broken and bruised. But even when it has been hard to do, I have still managed to find something. Even if it is something small, and silly, and trivial.
Jessica was an inspiration to me throughout her short life. She had so much strength and such a wonderful zest for life. Her godmother described her once as a “joy carrier” and it was the perfect description for her. She was a little ray of sunshine, full of smiles and gave joy to all who knew her. I am, and will always be, grateful to be her mummy. She taught me to enjoy the little moments and to make the most of everyday because tomorrow is never promised. And even though having to live life without Jessica is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do, I will continue to look for those little things to be thankful for, and keep going with this challenge in honour of my beautiful brave girl.
Here are my grateful moments from the past week:
Day 12 – I am grateful for Sophie’s friend who was baptised at our church today. This is a little girl who has taken it upon herself to look out for Sophie at Girls’ Brigade ever since Jessica died, trying to be a substitute big sister to her (being just a couple of months younger than Jessica). I am grateful for her kind and caring nature, the friendship that she and Sophie share, and honoured to have been asked to be one of her godmothers.
Day 13 – I am grateful for fun making puppets and watching Sophie using them to tell the story of the Three Little Pigs.
Day 14 – I am grateful that Thomas went off to sleep early so I could sit with Sophie and hold her hand for a while at bedtime.
Day 15 – I am grateful for a walk around the park after school.
Day 16 – I am grateful for the beautiful quilt that one of my talented friends made for Thomas.
Day 17 – I am grateful for my new rolling pin that my in-laws gave me for Christmas.
Day 18 – I am grateful that our little kitchen science attempt to make ‘frost’ patterns on the windows worked quite well.
Aww! What lovely moments.
What a lovely friend Sophie has.
That quilt is gorgeous! x
Thanks Kim. Sophie’s friend really is such a lovely girl and the quilt is amazing 🙂
So good to think about the positives. How lovely for Sophie that she has a friend who wants to provide her with some ‘big sister’ fun! The quilt is fantastic.
It’s such a lovely thing for her friend to want to do.
That quilt is so beautiful, something to treasure. Love your rolling pin too #366
Thank you – two very special gifts 🙂
Learning to live here without one of your children is such a difficult thing to do. 🙁 I’m sorry you are having to experience it. I lost our little Kali shortly after birth several years ago, but she remains very much a part of who I am today. I know you will always feel the same about your Jessica as well. Finding grateful moments is such a great exercise. Even though the pain never goes away from such a significant loss, it does get easier to lengthen those periods of gratefulness as time goes by.
Thank you Lisa, and I’m so very sorry for the loss of your little Kali too. It is so hard to have to live without one of your children but yes it is true that they are always a part of you too. Lots of love and hugs to you x
Not sure what I’m doing wrong, but my comment doesn’t want to go through. I wanted to say that I don’t think I’ve visited your blog before, and I’m so sorry for your loss.
It’s lovely that Sophie’s friend is caring.
The quilt looks fab, and that rolling pin is a work of art.
Thank you – this one made it through! It’s been a tough couple of years but it has helped to find little grateful moments. I’m so glad that Sophie has caring friends to help her.
How lovely to read about Sophie’s caring friend. She must be a wonderful little girl. That quilt is a work of art! A lot of work has gone into that.
Thanks Sarah. Sophie’s friend is such a lovely little girl and I’m so glad that she has someone like that to look out for her. The quilt is amazing, isn’t it? Definitely something that will be treasured.
What a lovely friend Sophie has, she sounds a wonderful little girl. I’ve been doing something similar with a one daily positive for almost 5 years now looking for the sun amongst the dark sky
Thank you. It is such a good thing to do – I know it’s really helped me, especially over the last couple of years.
Nice to find the positive in every day, and I am glad you can do that when life must be so hard and all you want to do some days is sit in the corner and cry, and nobody would blame you.
Love the rolling pin, and that quilt is an amazing gift for him to have received
It’s such a wonderful gift – we will definitely treasure that one.
That’s lovely that Sophie has such a caring friend. Love that quilt – what a beautiful and thoughtful present
It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Such a lovely surprise to receive that.
Ooh I want to know how to make the frost patterns! That rolling pin is amazing! #project366
The frost patterns are fun – we did them with a solution of Epsom salts. Will be sharing more on the blog in the next week or so 🙂
Oh such a lovely idea to post what you are grateful for daily. I try to do a gratitude post at the end of each month but often forget!
Sophie’s friend sounds lovely!
I love taking part in the challenge – it’s been so helpful to try and look for things to be thankful for. I love that you try and do a monthly gratitude post.
Wonderful idea of being grateful for anything everyday. May your daughter’s soul rest in peace. That is so lovely of Sophie’s friend to look after her. You have beautiful children and I love the quilt and rolling pin!
Thank you, I really enjoy taking part in the challenge and it’s helped me so much to look for those little moments of gratitude.
This is a lovely series and I am so glad you are joining us for 365 or 366 this year! Mine like their hands held at bedtime too. You have reminded me to make sure I do it more often. The rolling pin is fab and the quilt gorgeous a very talented friend. Congratulations on becoming a godmother.
Thank you, I’ve been meaning to join in for ages and finally got around to it! 🙂
That rolling pin is fab, I would love to try one like that. Love the blanket, hand made items like that are very precious. Thank you for sharing. Gratitude is something we all need to work on I think
I do love hand-made gifts and the quilt is such a special one.
What lovely moments captured. And such a lovely friend Sophie has. I do love your photos. That quilt is gorgeous x
Thank you, it was such a lovely surprise to receive it.